Simba Bhora look ahead

SIMBA Bhora executive chairman Isaiah Mupfurutsa believes the club is going to move from strength to strength following a turbulent start to their Castle Lager Premier Soccer League life.

Simba Bhora made their maiden season in the Premiership and high expectations were staked on them following an ambitious player acquisition spree.

Mupfurutsa believes they have done well as the number one priority for promoted teams is to survive relegation.

Simba Bhora have already amassed 39 points and another win in their remaining three games will guarantee them a ticket for next season top flight football.

Although team owner Simba “Buju” Ndoro remains the primary sponsor, they have managed to bring in other partners and are expecting a handful more for next season.

Simba Bhora are renovating their home ground Wadzanai to meet CAF standards ahead of next season.

“We assembled a team at the beginning of the season that had players with many different backgrounds coming up together,” said Mupfurutsa.

“It was obvious it was going to take some time for the team to gel and be cohesive. Everything was a process and in the second half, I think it is clear the team has improved a lot.

“Things were not as good as many wished them to be and if you look at the fact that we were not using our home ground from day one as we once adopted National Sports Stadium before we used Baobab.

“If you look at the distance between Harare to Baobab it’s more than 140km and entails a lot of travelling that is happening and naturally it consumes a lot of energy and resources. “The club hierarchy found it wise to stop renovating our stadium as these travelling came up later with a lot of unforeseen expenses. But that didn’t take anything from the club as we have remained one of the most organised and well-run clubs in the country.

“So now we are sure we are going to finish the renovations of the ground. The remaining areas will be done for us to start using the stadium by the start of next season.

“Bucket seats and other things that were being manufactured are already on its way and as soon as they arrive they will be installed. So basically everything is ready and it’s the installation that is left to be done.

Mupfurutsa said that the club will also bring in new players for the next season as long as the coaches made the requisition.

“It’s obvious that at the end of every season, some players move and some will come in but we can’t just say we are going to sign players without the coach requesting that. “So we expect to add more quality to the team and raise our level of competitiveness. “We are also going to sit down and have a review of the season and do a strategic planning of next season as we will see what is required and what is not.

“Lastly I have to say that I see this club as one with large potential ad is going to be a household name on the local scene in the coming years.